Track teams compete in California and Michigan: Men use meet to prepare for G-MAC Championships

Home Sports Track teams compete in California and Michigan: Men use meet to prepare for G-MAC Championships
Track teams compete in California and Michigan: Men use meet to prepare for G-MAC Championships

The men’s track squad split in half to attend two different meets this past weekend. One part of the team headed to Grand Valley State for the Al Owens Classic, while the other half headed to sunny California for the Mt. SAC Relays. Head coach Andrew Towne said the team performed well at both meets.

“The California meet was really good,” Towne said. “The whole purpose of a trip like that is to put yourselves in a position to enter a championship season on a good not, or in some cases to start the qualifying process. The secondary purpose was that it’s been a terrible spring, so it gave us a chance to get some good weather. I thought the trip went really well.”

The Al Owens Classic saw athletes improving and readying themselves for the upcoming meets.

“That was a solid meet as well,” Towne said. “We got some kids good opportunities and I feel like we continue to move along the way we need to to get ready for championship season.”

There’s just one more meet before Hillsdale hosts the G-MAC Outdoor Championships. Senior captain Nathan Jones said the team has to be able to balance the busyness of the end of the semester.

“The biggest thing for us is you have to do a good job of managing everything,” Jones said. “Obviously with classes, exams, and everything, there’s a lot going on. It takes a little bit of maturity and you need to recognize what you have to do to be ready to compete. I’m excited. I think we have a lot of guys moving in the right direction and that’s all you can ask.”

Senior Seth Overla said the team is putting in the work to be ready for the end of the season.

“There are hard parts and there are parts that really suck,” Overla said. “At the end of the day, you and everyone around you has made that same sacrifice and commitment. That’s why track is an individual sport, but at the same time it’s a team sport. In track, the results are transparent. If you didn’t work hard enough, it’s going to show. It’s really nice to see that everyone else is putting the same amount of effort as you and you push each other.”

The team is home for the rest of the season, besides the NCAA Championships. This weekend, Hillsdale will host the 52nd Annual Hillsdale College Gina Relays.

“It’s one of the bigger meets in the Midwest during the outdoor season,” Towne said. “We’re always excited to host that. It’s a really high-level meet. We’ll have 1,500 plus people here.”